Ten European companies recognised for innovative contributions to risk prevention in the workplace

Irish company receives the top award at EU Safety and Health in Workplace Conference

The West Offaly Dairy Discussion Group has received the top award at the European Occupational Safety and Health ‘Good Practice Awards’. The award recognises outstanding new approaches to implementing effective safety and health management among Small and Medium Enterprises (SME’s) across Europe.

EU-OSHA announced the ten winners during the European conference ‘Small business and workplace safety and health: the challenge; the opportunity’, organised just one day after the World Day for Safety and Health at Work (28 April) by the Irish Presidency of the European Union in Dublin. This was the first time EU-OSHA gave joint awards to both managers and workers, which is in line with the ongoing Healthy Workplaces Campaign on the topic of ‘Working together for risk prevention’.

The European Agency for Safety and Health at Work (EU-OSHA) organised the 11th edition of the Good Practice Awards in which several hundred companies of all sizes from 29 countries in the EU and beyond competed. This year EU-OSHA rewarded the best examples of cooperation between managers and employees in risk prevention.

‘The benefits of good occupational health and safety policies are still not always recognised at the individual company level in Europe, and especially among micro, small and medium-sized enterprises,’ said Dr Christa Sedlatschek, Director of EU-OSHA.

‘We would like to show that ideas and concepts developed by the winners of the Good Practice Award can be adapted across different industries and Member States and in organisations of different types and sizes’, stressed László Andor, Commissioner for Employment, Social Affairs and Inclusion. ‘Taking stock of innovative solutions and best practices in Europe should also help us in the effort to further develop health and safety policies for the future'.

Winners of this edition were expected to show strong management leadership and active worker participation in safety and health. The organisations represent a wide variety of sectors, for example health care, retail, and agriculture. The ceremony was an occasion for the winners to exchange their good practices, such as the reduction of accidents in automobile production in Turkey, how staff well-being was improved at a technology company in Finland or how Irish dairy industry workers identified risks in their sector and tackled them.

During the event EU-OSHA also commended a further ten companies. A new booklet published today showcases the good practice initiatives they have implemented.